I sipped my drink, giving polite smiles to the people around me. I was getting a few stares, which was awkward, but nobody was coming up to me and asking anything, so that was good. 

I waited awkwardly for Ben to come out of the bathroom. I was only here for him. This was his friend’s party, and, after six months of dating, Ben was insistent that I needed to meet his friends. 

I didn’t really mind, but I was a little bit awkward when meeting new people, so I tried to avoid it as much as I could. 

But I liked Ben, I really did. I could see our relationship really blossoming into something great. Not even just blossoming… I think it was already something great. But what I mean is, I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him. So, I’ll gladly meet his friends. 

I hadn’t told him that I was in this for the long haul though. I just didn’t want to scare him off. It was a little early to say, ‘hey, I think I’m going to marry you one day.’ Though we’d already said I love you to each other, and I think he feels the same way. 

I’d never had this kind of relationship with anyone before. I’ve dated a lot, men and women, but nobody has ever struck me like Ben has. He was something special. He was sweet, funny, incredibly handsome, passionate… everything about his existence interested me endlessly. 

It’s hard when you’re famous to find someone who is genuine. Who isn’t just dating you for money or attention. 

And I know Ben isn’t. He hadn’t even actually known who I was when we’d met. 

It was the weirdest story, actually. Our meting was anything but romantic. But I treasure the memory anyway, just because it’s Ben, and I really adore him. 

I was at the grocery store one day, and I just so happened to be in line for check out behind Ben. I remember when I’d seen him, I’d thought he was a cute guy, but I hadn’t been going to comment on it or anything, because I’d assumed he probably wasn’t gay, and the attention would be unwanted. 

God, to think, I’d almost walked out of that grocery store without his number. My entire life would be different now. 

Anyway, he reached into his wallet to pay, and his jaw dropped as soon as he opened it. 

“Oh my god…” he muttered. “I don’t have my card!” He ruffled through the pockets of his wallet.  “I have no idea where it is! Seriously, no clue…”

I looked over at the register screen to see that he owed about two hundred dollars. 

“I’ve got it,” I said from behind him, as I pulled out my card. 

It really was no problem. Obviously, I made a ton of money, more than I knew what to do with. I was more than happy to help out a cute stranger. 

His jaw dropped a second time. “Oh, no! I couldn’t let you do that! It’s two hundred dollars…” 

“It’s fine,” I insisted, handing the young female cashier my card so he couldn’t protest any longer. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

‘Oh my god!” He took my hand, stunned.  “Thank you… oh, I feel so guilty, I’m really super sorry! You’re a life saver.”

He was talking really fast, and I couldn’t help but laugh. 

“It's seriously not a problem. I’m happy to help,” I told him. 

We made small talk as we walked out of the store, and while we were, I got the feeling that he actually might be gay. And since I'd just been nice enough to buy all his groceries, I figured, hey, why not ask him for his number?

He grinned after I did. “So, I get my groceries bought for me, and I get a date? It’s seriously my lucky day.”

I laughed as I extended my hand. “I’m Grady, by the way, Grady Ians.”

I thought I’d throw my name out there and see how he reacted. Any baseball fan would immediately know who I was and would react accordingly. But I knew quickly that he was not a fan. My name did not ring any bells. 

“Hi, my name’s Ben,” he smiled softly. 

I found myself relieved he didn’t know who I was. Like I said, it was hard to find anyone genuine once they knew you were famous. With someone who didn’t know who I was, I might actually have a chance at a normal relationship. 

Which is what I really wanted. I’ve been dating for so long now, sleeping around was getting tiring. I didn’t want to keep living my life like this, going from pointless hook up to pointless hook up. It wasn’t fulfilling anymore. I was getting older. I wanted to settle down. 

Just the night before I’d met Ben, I had slept with a cute petite blonde woman who was absolutely stunning, and I’d had a great time. But once it was over, and she’d left, I’d felt as empty as ever. 

She liked me for more than just sex, I could tell she was looking for a relationship, but she was one of those people who didn’t come off as genuine at all. She knew who I was, and I could tell she was thrilled to be going out on a date with someone famous. I wrote her off for that reason. But I had hope for things with Ben.

And I wasn’t wrong. For the first month we’d dated, we’d both fallen fast. It was perfection. 

I quickly learned he was everything I’d ever wanted in a man. Well, except maybe for the fact that he didn’t like baseball. That was one thing we did not have in common, but that fact also saved our relationship. 

Because he didn’t know I was famous, I knew that all our moments were genuine. He was not putting on a show, he did not want me for any superficial reasons, he just liked the kind of person that I was. And I liked the kind of person he was. And things were good. 

It wasn’t until we’d been dating for nearly two months that he finally realized I was someone famous. 

We went to this scary movie, at my suggestion. Ben didn’t seem too keen on the idea, but I convinced him it would be fun and that he could hold onto my hand if he got scared. Which he did, the entire time. 

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into that!” He pushed me as we left the theater. “That was awful!”

I laughed. “No, it was a blast! You’re damn cute when you’re scared.” 

He rolled his eyes as two teenage boys ran up to us. 

“Oh my god, are you Grady Ians?!” One of them asked in an excited tone. 

I was used to this happening to me, of course, but Ben was obviously not so used to it and looked at me wide-eyed. 

“Yes, I am,” I smiled at the two young boys, temporarily ignoring Ben’s look of a shock. 

“Could you sign our hats?!” The other boy asked. 

“Sure, if you’ve got a pen.” 

One of them was carrying a backpack, and, sure enough, he pulled a permanent marker out of his pocket. 

I signed both of their hats. 

“Thank you so much.”

“Not a problem,” I nodded to them, as I started to walk away, Ben by my side.  He was slack-jawed. 

“What… what the hell was that?” he asked. 

“What was what?” I asked, playing stupid because his confusion was super adorable. 

“What was what?! What just happened!” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said jokingly. 

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Who are you, exactly?”

“I’m Grady Ians, the handsome man you are casually dating.” 

“And who the hell is Grady Ians? Why did those boys want your autograph?” 

“Ahhh…” I laughed awkwardly. “Well, you know how I told you that for my job I was involved in the sports industry?”

“Yes…” he said slowly, hesitantly. 

“Well, I never told you what I do exactly. And what I do exactly is play baseball.”

His jaw dropped again. “You mean, like, major league?” 

“Yes, major league,” I said nonchalantly. 

“Wait!” He literally stopped walking. We were standing out on the sidewalk outside the theater. “You are an actual major league baseball player?! You’re completely famous, and… I didn’t know?”

“Well, I’m guessing you don’t watch much sports.”

“Uh, obviously!” he snapped back. “Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me this before?!”

I shrugged. “I’m sorry if it seems like I was trying to be dishonest. I wasn’t, of course I knew you’d find out… but, for the time being, it felt really nice that you didn’t know.”

I could tell he was a little annoyed by this. “How did my cluelessness feel ‘nice’?’” he questioned.

“I don’t know… once people realize you’re famous, they start acting weird. Like, you can’t really be sure what’s genuine and what isn’t it. But, with you, you didn’t know anything about me, so I knew that all the feelings you showed for me were real. You liked me, you didn’t like the fact that I was a famous baseball player.”

He took this in. “Well, I wouldn’t have cared even if I knew, you know. It really is you I like. Your personality, your charm…”

“I know,” I said, as I continued walking toward my car. “Trust me, I know. You’re the real deal. A total sweetheart and completely genuine.”

I could see him blush as I opened the car door for him. He got in wordlessly, and I quickly made my way to the driver’s side. 

“You’re not mad at me for lying, right?” I asked, as I shut my own door behind me. 

“Mildly…” he admitted. “It’s a minor annoyance, but I think you can make it up to me,” he said as he put his hand on my lap, feeling up my thigh, making it clear what kind of favor I could do to repay him. 

I laughed. “Boy, you know I was planning on that anyway.” 

I still remember that date night so vividly. It was a beautiful one. We’d had sex plenty of times before, but that was one of the hottest. 

Something about it was different. It was the first time I felt that I could be totally honest about my life and who I was to him, and, so, it somehow felt much more intimate. At least, it did for me. I don’t know about him. 

And things have been pretty great since that day. In the past few months that we’ve been dating, Ben has also made a concerted effort to learn baseball, and he’s really come to be a fan. 

I mean, I guess he could be lying about that. Maybe he actually hates it, but, either way, he acts like a fan, and that’s good enough for me. 

It was really sweet, in fact. That he tried so hard to show an interest in my line of work. It showed me how much he really cared. 

I felt a small tap on my shoulder and turned around to find Ben grinning at me. 

“Having fun?” he asked. 

“A blast,” I tried to lie convincingly, because I wanted to be nice. 

He was always so nice to me, the least I could do was come hang out with his friends and be pleasant about it. 

He could definitely see through the lie, though. “You would love just about any excuse to leave right now, wouldn’t you?” he eyed me. 

“Well, I…” I tried to think of how to continue to lie, but I couldn’t. “I supposed that might be true.”

“Good!” he said, catching me off guard. 

“Uh… good?” I asked. 

“Yeah… I kind of needed a favor. The host is almost out of liquor, and I was hoping you could run down to the corner store and get some?” he laughed.

“Right, of course. No problem,” I said, as I kissed his cheek. 

“Then, hey, as soon as you get back, I swear we’ll go. I mean, we’ll do that thing where you linger for ten minutes to seem like you’re not rushing out the door, and then we’ll go home.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said, smiling at the thought of having him all to myself for the rest of the night. 

We’d been spending a ton of time together, but it still never felt like enough to me. I could spend every second of every day with him, and it wouldn’t feel like enough. 

I walked out to my car, and, as I did, I heard my phone buzzing in my pocket. Which was unusual for this time of night. But I answered it, all the same. 

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Grady?” I heard a familiar female voice ask, though I couldn’t place it exactly. 

“Grady, this is Isabel,” she explained. 

This did not ring a bell for me. 

“Isabel… Isabel…” I mumbled, trying to place her. 

This insulted her very much. 

“You’re kidding, right?!” she snapped. “You seriously don’t know who I am?”

“Um, you sound familiar, but… no, I’m sorry.”

She scoffed. “A few months ago, we met at that ESLN Show after party? I do camera work for the ESLN show?”

Right, okay, now I totally knew who she was. She was this really hot raven-haired woman I had hooked up with just about a month before I’d met Ben. The second to last woman I’d hooked up before I’d met him, in fact. 

“Isabel… right! I’m so sorry about that, I’m a little drunk right now,” I lied, because I was pretty much sober. 

“Uh huh. You seriously already forgot about me? How many women do you sleep with?”

Well, none now. But I didn’t say that. 

“Like I said, I’m sorry…”

“Right.”

Well, this conversation was getting awkward. And we hadn’t even gotten to the part where she told me why she’d had called me. So, I decided to speed things along by bringing that up myself. 

“Look, Isabel, I had a really fun time that night, but if you’re calling back to arrange a second date, I can’t. I’m actually kind of in a relationship with someone now—”

She scoffed again. “I didn’t call you for a date,” she said bitterly, “but good to know you’re dating someone new already.”

“So, uh, why did you call?” I continued awkwardly, hoping to end this conversation as quickly as possible. 

I figured she was going to tell me I had left my shirt at her place or something like that. I got that often from people I hooked up with. They did whatever they could to find an excuse to call me again. 

But that wasn’t what she said. And when I processed the words, my jaw dropped. 

And, at that moment, my life fell apart.

“I’m pregnant.”